▲ KIA's Castro
The professional baseball team KIA Tigers seized the early momentum in the playoffs (best-of-five series) with an unstoppable stride.
In the first game of the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO Playoffs held away at Samsung Lions Park in Daegu today (October 26), KIA defeated the Samsung Lions 5-1, backed by starting pitcher James Nail's strong performance and home runs from Harold Castro and Han Jun-su.
Having opened both the wild card/semi-playoffs and now the first game of the playoffs with victories, KIA now sets its sights on reaching the Korean Series for the first time in two years.
Historically, in best-of-five playoffs, the team winning the first game has advanced to the Korean Series 27 out of 35 times.
Samsung suffered a decisive defeat as their trusted starting pitcher, Fedde, collapsed helplessly, and the team's offense was limited to just two hits.
Castro, who tallied 3 hits in 4 at-bats including a two-run homer and 3 RBIs, was selected as the Daily MVP.
Kim Do-young energized the field with 2 hits in 3 at-bats—including a double—along with 2 runs scored and 1 stolen base.
KIA's Lee Ee-lee, who took the mound in the bottom of the 6th inning, utilized fastballs in the 150 km/h range to pitch 1 and 1/3 scoreless innings with 3 strikeouts and no hits, earning his first-ever postseason win.
KIA snapped a five-game losing streak in the playoffs that began with Game 4 of the playoffs against the LG Twins on October 30, 2002, securing their first playoff win in 24 years.
In the postseason, they extended their winning streak to 6 games starting from Game 4 of the Korean Series against the Samsung Lions on October 26, 2024.
Game 2 of the playoffs will take place at the same venue tomorrow (October 27) at 6:30 PM.
KIA has named Adam Oller as its starting pitcher, while Samsung has announced Ariel Jurado.
A crowd of 23,550 packed Samsung Lions Park today, bringing the cumulative attendance for the current postseason to 108,650.
Fall baseball has now recorded 42 consecutive sellout games dating back to Game 1 of the 2023 Korean Series.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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